Preview: Southampton vs Leicester City – prediction, team news, line-ups

Southampton and Leicester City both suffered relegation from the Premier League last season but the two sides have made positive starts to life in the Championship. 

They will now face each other at St. Mary’s Stadium on Friday night in a blockbuster game in the English second-tier. 

Match Preview 

Southampton were unbeaten in their first four league encounters, which included wins over Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth Argyle, and QPR. 

But the Saints had to endure a demoralising 5-0 defeat at Sunderland before the international break. 

Jack Clarke headed home the opening goal within the first minute before Pierre Ekwah doubled their lead with a low shot.  

The Frenchman added another just before the interval with a curling effort. 

If Southampton fans expected a comeback in the second-half, they were sorely disappointed. Bradley Dack got on the scoresheet when he tucked in Abdoullah Ba’s cross from close range in the 48th-minute. 

Substitute Chris Rigg then scored in the injury time to cap off an emphatic success at the Stadium of Light. 

Meanwhile, Leicester also saw an end to their impressive run in their previous Championship game. 

Manager Enzo Maresca led his side to four successive victories in the second-tier at the expense of Coventry City, Huddersfield Town, Cardiff City, and Rotherham United. 

However, their winning streak was ended by Hull City at the King Power Stadium. 

Liam Delap smashed the opening goal with a left-footed strike on 15 minutes to give the visitors an excellent start. 

The Foxes tried to make a comeback in the game and created several goalscoring opportunities but lack of finishing let them down. 

Abdul Fatawu’s strike rattled the post while Cesare Casadei and Jamie Vardy also missed the target to level the scores. 

In the end, Leicester fell to their first defeat since Enzo Maresca took charge of the club this summer. 

Team News 

Che Adams has remained at Southampton after his move to Everton failed. The 27-year-old is expected to be recalled to the starting XI for Friday’s match in latest football news. 

Taylor Harwood-Bellis, who joined on loan this summer, is in line to earn his debut, while Will Smallbone is also likely to feature after recovering from an ankle injury. 

Meanwhile, Leicester could return to a 4-3-3 system after their 1-0 loss against Hull City. 

That means Ricardo Pereira and Callum Doyle will occupy the full-back spots, with Wout Faes and Jannik Vestergaard in line to feature in central defence. 

Southampton vs Leicester City potential line-ups 

Southampton: Bazunu; Walker-Peters, Bednarek, Harwood-Bellis, Manning; Smallbone, Downes, S.Armstrong; A.Armstrong, Adams, Edozie

Leicester City: Hermansen; Pereira, Faes, Vestergaard, Doyle; Ndidi, Winks, Dewsbury-Hall; Mavididi, Iheanacho, McAteer

How to Watch? 

Southampton vs Leicester City, as well as all other second-tier matches in England, can be watched via football live streams. 

Southampton vs Leicester City prediction 

Both teams suffered defeats in their previous matches but Southampton endured a heavy loss compared to Leicester. We expect a tight affair at St. Mary’s on Friday night but the Foxes should prevail due to their better squad quality. 

Southampton 2-1 Leicester City